the creator of "thunderbirds" has died at the age of 83. why these artists say snow sculpting is a painful passion. the egyptian president has invited opposition parties to gel in a national dialogue. mohammad morsi says the economy will be the number one priority. but the main opposition had said it rejects calls for more dialogue. he also believes the constitution will bring more stability and security. >> he says it is the beginning of a new era for egypt. the first time the country has

had a constitution that has not been imposed by an occupier of king's or a president. he congratulated the people of egypt. he did also acknowledged that a lot of egyptians had voted against the constitution and he said that was a healthy find in the society and he says egypt is in the early stages of a democracy. for him, he says this is a point to bring stability back again. >> he's also talking about a national dialogue. there are so many people, despite the result, there are many people who do not like what he wants to do. >> very much so. there was earlier this afternoon another round of that dialogue, which the major opposition group did not take part in. there are very big bridges that

mr. morsi us to try to build up the moment. the opposition has said it is going to continue to fight against the constitution. what it has done is paved the way for parliamentary elections to be held in egypt in the next two months. what the opposition says it is going to do is campaign on that and then when they get into parliament, fight against it as well. few people expect to see the kind of division we have seen recently been dealt with any time soon. >> is that difficult for the liberals to spin? say they are in parliament fighting this. if the electors as we have stability. and we have it, can they sell that? >> the opposition faces a test.

it has managed to unify itself more than in recent months over this referendum. they're going to try to capitalize upon that, whether they can manage that is another question. also, both parties have to deal with egyptians who want stability and want everything to calm down. the country faces all sorts of challenges and president morsi also faces challenges. the economy is in a terrible state. look about as -- he spoke about that this evening. if he house to take austerity measures, that could hurt him as well. a difficult time for politicians in general, given the scale of egypt's problems. >> the commander of the military police has defected and joined the uprising against bashar al-

assad. the major a general said "the syrian army had deviated from its original mission of protecting the nation and had turned into gangs of killers." here is his record a statement. >> i am the head of the syrian military police. i announced my defection from the army. i joined the people's revolution for the following reasons. the deviation of the army from its duty of protecting the country and its transformation into gangs of killing and destruction. the army has destroyed cities and towns. it has committed massacres against our people, who took to the streets to demand freedom. long live syria, free and europe. >> he also defected from the bashar al-assad government. before that he held several high-ranking posts including the

ambassador to sweden. i asked him how significant it is. >> it is very significant because one of the highest- ranking officers that have affected so far, and this man is the head of the military police and he must know a lot of things that have been going on by the army, invading the cities and killing civilians and bombarding the area with chemical weapons. he has said homs was bombed with chemical weapons. this is his statement. i think he was in a position to do this because you have all the reports coming to him. >> is it really that significant given that bashar al-assad still

can count the military in multiples of tens of thousands? he is getting help from the russians, the iranians, and also has fallen out of lebanon. he looks pretty secure and appears to be acting with impunity. >> you are right. we cannot forget the fact this person has a lot of information about the use of prohibited weapons, especially this thing about chemical weapons. we think -- we know obama said the west would not forgive the use of chemical weapons. he says there are a red line. i think this is something the regime would not like to have on their hands. >> what will they do with the information this memo provides him with? -- this man provides them with? >> this regime has been very

brutal and has committed some atrocities against civilians and house also used -- has also used weapons of mass destructions. you talk about chemical weapons. perhaps some thing more. i hope this will confirm that the regime is preparing such weapons. >> we have had those reports of chemical-type weapons over the past weeks. there was a report two days ago. it looked like phosphorus had been used. what is your sense as to how long the regime has left? >> i am pretty sure the regime will stain as long as the outside help is going on.

and if the west is not the ticket stand and provide the opposition with three weapons -- does not take a stand and provide the opposition with real weapons to end this bloodshed, if this does not happen, i think it will take a long time for the serious crisis to finish. >> some breaking news coming to us. if you drive a toyota, they have agreed to pay $1.1 billion in settlement of a class-action lawsuit taken out against the company by u.s. car drivers. there was a mass recall. the deal will cover the cost of installing a free break override

system and millions of vehicles affected by that recall and cash payments to those who sold their vehicles or decide to say no to the break override system. you'll remember toyota has had several problems of the past 18 months or so. it looks like it is agreeing to pay $1.1 billion to settle a class-action -- that is an american legal concept which has spread where all the people affected by the same problem get together and they go through the american legal system. we will get more on that as soon as we can. within the last few hours, the former south african president, nelson mandela, has been discharged from hospital. he spent several weeks and treatment. he also had an operation to remove gall stones. he was in good spirits when

visited by the current president on christmas day. a statement said that he would receive home-based care at his residence in johannesburg. storms have battered large areas of the united states. it started on the golf coat -- gulf coast and is moving toward the northeast. it has claimed six lives and caused chaos. hundreds of flights were canceled. tens of thousands of people are without power. it has moved across texas, louisiana, and alabama and is gaining in strength. abc reports now from mobile, alabama. >> dozens of christmas tournedos terrorizing the south. eyewitnesses watching this monster. >> that is a tornado. wow/. look at that. >> first, at least 15 twisters

pounding texas, touching down in louisiana, blasting through mississippi. >> we have a lot of people hurt. >> and wreaking havoc here where a funnel cloud was barreling across the city, lightning flashing inside like a giant christmas ornaments. a snowstorm all the way from california. it is triggering these explosions in the midtown area. lit only by the lights of police cruisers. thousands are without power. over a quarter of a million people are without power. >> we have had some moderate injuries. there have been no deaths reported. judging from some of the damage today, it is a miracle. >> residents to pick through the debris as rescue workers check for those trapped in the rubble. picking up cars and ripping through a high school.

>> has predicted, the storm is on the move. these are the latest pictures from indiana. dangerous conditions are leaving many struggling to get around. snow was expected to fall on wednesday. residents are also dealing with freezing temperatures. france has sent troops to the central african republic to protect its embassy after protests outside of the compound. they accuse the former colonial power failing to stop the rebel advance. they threw stones and tore down a flight at the embassy. our west africa correspondent is following the course -- following the developments. >> france has always maintained a small military presence in the center african republic, which has a history of coups,. . because of the rapid advance of the coalition for the capitol, a

lot of people demonstrated today and said france should be intervening to help stop the rebel advance. hundreds of youths protested in front of the french embassy, demanding that france intervened. they threw stones at the building. toward down the flag. they insist they cannot intervene. they say talks must be held and they have now deployed about 30 soldiers around the embassy to secure the premises. >> to be clear on who has the upper hand, the rebels have the upper hand on the ground. >> it is clear that the rebels have the upper hand on the ground. regional leaders are mediating in the conflict and give them until friday to withdraw their troops from the towns they have been occupying in order to start peace talks. even deep weakened position of

the government, this is not likely to happen in the rebel coalition says they want a dialogue to happen now without any preconditions. >> you are watching "bbc world news." coming up on this program -- terry anderson, the creator of "thunderbirds," has died at the age of 83. japan's new prime minister, shinzo abe, has named his cabinet. on foreign policy, he emphasized the importance of japan posting relationship with united states. relationship with united states. >> i spoke to president obama on the telephone the other day. we have agreed to work to rebuild our relationship.

i acknowledge before stepping reinforcing our relations with the u.s. is our priority. as prime minister, i must protect our citizens lives with determination. right now, are fearful -- airforce are protecting our sea and sky around the island. japan's security is not someone else's program. it is the crisis we have on our hands. >> this is "bbc world news." mohamad morsi has welcomed the vote in favor of a new constitution and he has called on those who opposed it to join in a national dialogue. another army massacre in syria as another person the facts. seeing the army has deviated from protecting the nation.

a fire has destroyed a fireworks or house in nigeria. it killed at least one person and injured many more. it quickly spread to other buildings. he sent us this report. >> it was felt miles away and a thick cloud of smoke rose from the area. thousands gathered to have a look. some were worried they might have lost loved ones and property. at least one person has been killed in the explosion. rescue workers recovered a body burned beyond recognition. it is believed dozens more were injured in the blast and in the resulting stampede. the crowd meant emergency workers had problems getting to the scene. the fire brigade to struggle to fight the flames and ran out of water. authorities say it is not clear what sparked the explosion that happened in the fireworks throughout. the resulting fire spread to

neighboring buildings in this part of lagos, causing panic among residents. the use of fireworks is common at this time of the year in nigeria during the festive season. in the past, there has been a call on a ban against fireworks. it is not enforced. >> the man who created the tv series "thunderbirds" has died. he also produced capt. scarlet and stingray. >> thunderbirds are go. >> thunderbirds, the most successful of the jerry anderson's extravaganza's. he and his wife sylvia began program making in the 1950's.

it was when he combined science- fiction with puppetry that he achieved his most famous creations. the pilot was commissioned for 321 our programs. -- 32 one hour programs. >> he said it was not day television series. and then he walked all the way up to me and said, this is a feature film. >> stingray was the first-ever british children's series to be filmed in color. >> anything can happen in the next half hour. >> capt. scarlet featured more realistic puppets and darker situations. this was the last of his series to be made with his puppet the

technique. >> 20 kilometers away. >> one character remains closest to his heart. >> my favorite character was parker. >> he will be remembered as a man who entertained adults and children, using mechanical puppets, which still produce stories filled with emotion and excitement. >> matt zimmerman was the voice of allen tracy, the blond one. he played him, he did the voice. we spoke to him earlier and he told me more about his relationship with jerry anderson. >> he was an amazing man. i knew him 48 years. we saw each other all the time. he was a big influence in my

life. of course i will remember him forever. >> what was it like working on thunderbirds? the puppets were the third of a size of a human being. they were not small. he came up with a technique to electrify the mounds of the puppets so that you, it was all properly synched. that was something in your early days they found difficult to get right. >> when i spoke with my puppet, the mouth would move automatically. they did not have to control it. the only thing he had trouble with was with the walking. he never conquered that. that is why he wanted to work with real actors. that was the main problem. >> was it easy or difficult as an actor? you could get reduced by the special effects, the particular way he built the programs around the puppets and also the puppeteers. it was obviously filmed very

close up. we never saw the shot with all the people literally pulling the strings. >> you are talking about something that is very popular. when we did that job in the 1960's, it was just a job. you never thought anything about it. we never saw the puppets. we record three episodes on a sunday. we never saw the finished product right away, i remember going into do a track and walked into the studio and i realized every effect was being done on the dining room table. that was the size of it. the explosions were done on a dining room table. it was unbelievable. >> what was the appeal? i watched a lot, because it was my generation. what was the appeal for you?

>> for me, well, it was the stories. it was done like a radio play. we did not talk down to children. we told stories the way it went. it was an international rescue company. we went for the reality. jerry wanted that, the reality with in the story line. to this day, most of the fans that right to me, go about the stories. it brought the puppets to life. >> talking to me earlier. many of you have been riding on your facebook page to share your memories. chris pearson in the at the state says he was responsible for firing my imagination as a youngster. steven burns said he was a genius and his generation is greatly missed. robert hill said rip -- your

life's dream was to make children dream big. you can share your thoughts on our face page, facebook.com/bbcworldnews. you have heard the phrase suffering for your art. we found another example of that in china. snow sculptures put in hundreds of hours to carve masterpieces as part of a festival in the northeast in super cold conditions. >> it is -30 degrees celsius in this part of china and the sculptors are continuing to carve their masterpiece despite the plighting cold. >> i need to protect my face as much as possible. the cold weather and the uv light to make my face hurt. it will take about two weeks to return to normal after a go home.

>> one of the works is a herd of stemmed -- of stallions. the kind this particular piece will be the largest in the world. this is another example of their icy art, a life-size to church, incredible detail by the incredibly dedicated. >> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to understand

the industry you operate in, working to nurture new ventures and help provide capital for key strategic decisions. we offer expertise and tailored solutions in a wide range of industries. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet, los angeles.

- hi, neighbour! today prince wednesday is coming over to play at the beach! and then we're going to music man stan's music shop to play with the instruments! will you come play too? i'll be right back! is made possible in part by... the richard king mellon foundation. dedicated for over sixty years to south western pennsylvania's quality of life, and competitive future. and by these pittsburg foundations. working together to enhance and enrich the lives of children for more than seventy-five years. and by the arthur vining davis foundations. dedicated to strengthening america's future through education. adcasting, dedicated to strengthening america's future

and contributions to your pbs station, from viewers like you. in the neighbourhood ♪ and contributions to your pbs station, ♪ a beautiful day for a neighbour ♪ ♪ would you be mine? ♪ could you be mine? ♪ won't you be my neighbour? - ♪ it's daniel tiger's neighborhood ♪ ♪ a land of make-believe ♪ won't you ride along with me? ♪ - ♪ ride along - ♪ it's daniel tiger's neighborhood ♪ ♪ so much to do, so much to see ♪ ♪ won't you ride along with me? ♪ - ♪ ride along - ♪ i've got lots of friends for you to meet ♪ ♪ in this land of make-believe ♪ a friendly face on every street ♪ just waiting to greet you ♪ it's a beautiful day in the neighbourhood ♪ ♪ a beautiful day for a neighbour ♪ ♪ in daniel tiger's neighborhood! ♪ - hi, neighbour! come on in! i can't wait to go play at jungle beach today!

and... prince wednesday's here! - hello, hello, hello. it's me, prince wednesday. i have my royal pail, and i have my royal shovel, and i'm ready for the beach. (both laughing) - beach day, beach day! swimmy-swim-swim. hey, want to pretend to swim with me? (chuckling) come on! swim, swim, swim! i can't wait to go to the beach! - swimming, swimming, swimming! - swimmy, swim, swim, swim. - swim, swim, swim. - hey, i have an idea. let's make-believe... we are swimming with the fish in the deep blue sea. ♪ swimming, swimming, swimming in the deep blue sea ♪ ♪ just you, the fishies, and me swimming in the deep blue sea ♪